Zinnias | Central Texas Gardener

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Zinnias

by Trisha Shirey

• Heat-loving, drought-tolerant annuals
• Zinnias trace their parentage to South America and South Texas
• Require well-drained soil
• Sun or afternoon shade. Zinnias will not perform well in semi-shade.
• Butterflies love them!? Plant in containers on the patio or porch for a close-up view.
• If possible, water by hand or with drip irrigation. Early-morning sprinklers will wash away nectar that attracts the butterflies.
• Easy to start from seed, or get nursery transplants
• Plant after soil has warmed up in late spring/early summer
• You can keep seeding throughout summer
• Fertilize regularly to promote top performance all summer

Classic, old-fashioned zinnia: Zinnia elegans

• Many colors (including green!)
• Are susceptible to powdery mildew
• Best planted from seed; can keeping seeding throughout summer
• Must be deadheaded to keep them flowering and attractive

New varieties:

• Less susceptible to fungal disease
• Don’t require deadheading

Magellan Dahlia-like flower up to 6? across 12-18? tall

Zahara Slightly smaller flowers Extremely durable in heat

Narrow-leaf zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia) Flowers about 1? wide About 12? tall, make low masses of color Flowers almost completely cover the leaves Tidy plant for edging walkways or for containers Only comes in 3 colors?gold, deep yellow, and white. The white is a nice annual substitute for blackfoot daisy for gardeners in heavy clay

Short Stuff 12? tall big impact on short stems

Profusion zinnia Intensely vivid colors Very profuse! ?

Article Type: Tip

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• Trisha Shirey

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February To Do List

Plant: ornamental & wildlife

• Annual transplants: pansies, violas, calendula (wildlife plant), snapdragon, stock, larkspur, ornamental kale & cabbage, bluebonnet transplants, poppies. Transplants are preferred over seeds at this point.
• Evergreen perennials & vines
• Trees, shrubs, roses
• Evergreen groundcovers like monkey grass, liriope, creeping germander, frogfruit

Plant: herbs

• Calendula, chervil, cilantro, chives, dill, parsley, feverfew, oregano, sorrel, thyme, garlic chives
• Protect cilantro and chives in below freezing weather.

Plant: food crops

• Artichokes, asparagus, onions, greens, lettuce, spinach, radish, carrots, beets, bok choy, collards, kale, peas, turnips, leeks, broccoli, shallot bulbs, cabbage
• Potatoes
• Get tomatoes and peppers to move to pots. Late month: plant if well protected from late freezes.
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Vegetable Planting Guides (Central Texas) http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/home-landscape/edible-gardens/growing-vegetables/

Plant: fruit

• Apples, peaches, pecans, pears, pomegranates, persimmons, figs, almonds, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries

Prune

• Roses
• Prune dormant perennials and ornamental (clumping) grasses.
• Prune grapes, fruit trees, blackberries
• Cut asters and chrysanthemums to rosettes
• Late month: prune woody salvias as much as ⅔ to encourage new growth
• Trees: DO NOT prune red oaks and live oaks unless damaged. Spray immediately with clear varnish.
• No need to apply pruning paint to other trees
• Avoid topping crape myrtles: simply remove sprouts or entire limbs at the trunk.
• Prune rosemary and oregano
• Late month: prune evergreen shrubs as they start to set new growth

Divide/Move

• Dormant perennials, roses, shrubs and trees. This is the best time to move plants!

Prep

• Add compost to vegetable gardens along with organic fertilizer in prep for another round of winter vegetables
• Soil test

Fertilize

• Roses
• Iris. Use a fertilizer with a higher middle number (phosphorus)
• Add compost to beds as you cut back dormant perennials. Fertilize with slow-release granular late in the month or as dormant perennials leaf out
• Add compost around trees and fertilize. Be sure to dig out grass several feet from the trunk, ideally to the drip line of the tree canopy.

Other tasks

• Keep floating row cover available; avoid covering plants with plastic
• Spray fruit trees with dormant oil to control overwintering scale, plum curculio and other pests.
• WEED!

Tips

• When planting, dig hole twice as wide as root ball but no deeper than where it sits in the pot.
• Backfill and water until it sinks in.
• Continue filling in.
• Water again until it sinks in and pack the soil down.
• Mulch.

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